At Our Own Pace
by apenchantforhappiness
Summary: Soft and fluffy RinHaru drabbles to warm your heart.
1. Distractions

**Headcanon: Since Rin's apparently really smart (major turn on) and good at English, he ends up having to tutor Haru since it's the latter's worst subject.**

**Pairing: Rin/Haru**

**After many weeks of trying and giving up, I finally got to writing these two! *happy dance* This was supposed to be nothing but fluff, but as always, I ended up digressing a bit. Also I had no one to beta this for me so sorry for any mistakes!**

**EDIT#2: This was a simple oneshot at first, but I've decided to turn into a multi-chapter story of drabbles!**

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

"…but if your possessive noun is plural and still ends in an 's' you have to put the apostrophe after it because…"

Blue eyes lazily gazed at the speaking person in front them. They trailed the other's messy ponytail and sleeveless tank, before glancing at the unusual look on his face. It was an odd mix of focus and relaxation, and was so different from irritated looks Rin usually sported, that Haru couldn't help but stare.

"Understand?" Rin asked.

Haru's mind was completely elsewhere. His eyes slowly trailed the other's collarbones before sliding over to well-trained biceps.

"Oi! Do you get it yet? Haru?" Rin asked again.

Haru sighed soundlessly, still unaware that he was being spoken to, and moved his stare across Rin's angled jaw before finally again resting on his face. It was when he saw the annoyed look on said face that he snapped out of his trance.

"Huh? What'd you say?" he asked slowly.

"Why the hell won't you listen!?" Rin snapped.

Haru looked away, "Sorry."

Rin's eyes twitched at the typical curt reply, "I've explained it three damn times! Quit zoning out!"

"…I was distracted."

"Distracted? By what?!"

_You._

Haru chose to remain silent on that, and sat up straight, "Explain it again. I'm listening this time."

"That's what you said the last two times!" Rin growled.

"Just get to it, Rin. We don't have all day," Haru countered.

"We wouldn't be rushing if you would just fucking pay attention," the red head bit out.

Haru just shrugged his shoulders and Rin damn near wanted to kick him. His plans for a weekend of training were canceled when Gou texted him about needing some tutoring. Rin had assumed _she_ was the one who needed the help, and was surprised that Saturday morning when she practically shoved him out the door saying, "Haruka-senpai's the one who needs your help!"

At first he has just considered heading back to Samezuka, but decided not to since he and Haru were still in a slightly awkward just-became-friends-again sort of relationship, and Rin was trying his best not to ruin things again. He had headed over and was surprised yet again when Haru opened the door, simply saying, "You're late."

And there they were two hours later, in the living room. Haru had said he needed help in with his English, and that since Gou told the team that that was Rin's best subject, he thought Rin would be the most convenient.

Rin frowned at merely being considered 'convenient' but brushed it off as his typical lack of concern. Soon they were situated across the table and after Rin took a look at Haru's homework, he began to explain it.

Well he tried to.

But a few words in, and he could see the other's eyes shifting and growing hazy. After about ten seconds, Haru wasn't even listening and was instead staring at his hair for some reason. Rin began kept shifting under the other's gaze but continued on talking, in desperate attempt to relieve the weird tension in the room.

He begrudgingly ended up having to repeat himself again, but Haru still ended up tuning him out. It happened a third time and by the fourth, Rin was ready to call it quits.

"If you're not going to pay attention then I'm done teaching you!" he snapped.

Haru blinked at him, "Okay."

Rin's urge to kick came back again, but he fought it off and groaned, "I promised Gou I would help you though…"

"Yeah I know…but it's hard to focus when you teach me," Haru said.

"It's not my fault you won't pay attention!"

"…actually it is"

Rin looked up, "What the fuck does that even mean?"

Haru shrugged his shoulders and looked away again. Rin was expecting him to say something, but when the other didn't, he sighed and stood up.

"If that's the case then I'm gonna go ba-"

"Wait! You're leaving? It's only three," Haru interrupted.

Rin paused, a bit taken aback by the sudden urgency in the other's voice, "Well…yeah. If I can't tutor you then what's the point of me being here?"

Haru frowned at, "We could…hang out or something."

Rin's eyebrows rose at the declaration and he couldn't help his cheeks from warming in an odd sense of embarrassment.

"You want to hang out?" _With me of all people?_

_After everything that's happened?_

Haru wouldn't look at him but Rin heard him mumble, "I wouldn't mind," under his breath.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he sat down again, "Um…sure. But you need to finish your homework first, okay?"

Haru rolled his eyes, but nodded and told Rin to explain it again. Rin eyed him warily and warned him that if he didn't pay attention this last time, he really was leaving. That seemed to be all the motivation Haru needed because he finally focused in on what Rin was saying and managed to finish all his homework in half an hour.

Rin eyed through his paper, "Yeah…yeah…and yeah. Good job, you got them all right." He flashed Haru small but rare smile and to his surprise, the other looked rather pleased with himself.

At the sight, Rin felt some of the old semblances of his childhood self coming back to him and decided to have some fun teasing Haru.

"You know, for a serious looking guy, you sure do nod off quickly."

He saw the other's eyebrow flinch and tried not to laugh. Haru gave him an almost glare and said, "It's because I don't have a very good teacher."

Rin stiffened before growling, "Oi! I taught you damn well! You're the one with the attention span of a five year old!"

Haru gave him a look that was one part offended and two parts 'screw you', and after a few seconds merely said, "You suck."

Rin grit his teeth and tried not to yell, "Even something like tutoring is hard with you! Nitori never gave me this much trouble!"

That seemed to surprise Haru because he blinked in shock for one second, before giving Rin a look with so much intensity that it made the red head freeze.

"You tutor your roommate, too?"

For some reason Rin couldn't quite look him in the eye, "Sometimes…when he needs it, I guess,"

"Sometimes?"

"Um…yeah," Rin had no idea why but he felt like he had done something wrong.

Haru's gaze was extremely scrutinizing, "So you're close with him?"

Rin looked at the floor, "Not really. I mean he's a good kid, but he wastes too much of his time stressing over me instead of himself," he turned his gaze up to the roof, "Sometimes I worry about him…"

"What?" Haru's voice was unexpectedly loud and Rin jumped at the sound of it.

"You worry about him?" Haru asked, voice morose. He almost sounded angry.

Rin didn't know why he felt the need to defend himself, "Only sometimes!"

Haru clicked his tongue and glowered at him, "You never seem to worry about anyone…" _About me._

Rin muttered, "Huh?" in confusion, but a second later it hit him. Once again the buildup of guilt that had harrowed him for last few years returned. He thought about all the people he hurt and let down; his sister, mother, friends, father, even his former self. Everything he let go in a misguided attempt to achieve a dream that wasn't even his.

His mind was so lost in revisiting its dark musings that it took him a few seconds to feel the hand gripping his shoulder. He looked up and found a pair of very blue and very earnest eyes looking into him.

"I'm sorry," Haru said quietly, "I didn't mean it."

Rin felt a lump form in his throat and he swallowed it down with a bit of difficulty, "It's not your fault. I'm the one who messed things up."

Haru shook his head, "That doesn't matter anymore. So don't feel sad."

Rin shot him a crooked smile, "Shut up. I'm not sad."

Haru gave him a knowing look, "Your face just now. It looked like you …" he tried to find the right words,"…like you were having a lot of feelings."

Rin tensed and felt something prick at the back of his eyes.

"…I'm fine," he said.

"Are you sure?" Haru asked.

"…Yeah…"

Haru nodded his head at that before adding, "But it's okay to not be."

Rin snapped his head at the other, his eyes wide and face full of surprise.

"When did you become a psychologist?" he asked, in a last ditch effort to steer the conversation away from the painful direction it was heading.

Haru shook he head, "I'm not. But you should try and talk to people about your problems."

Rin bit his lip, "My problems aren't worth wasting anyone's time with."

Haru shook his head again and gave Rin a penetrating look, "They are worth it. And I'd listen. To everything you had to say."

Rin felt the sting in the back of his eye worsen and soon his vision started growing a bit blurry. He ducked he head to the floor, "Tch…what if I don't want to talk about them right now?"

"That's fine. You can tell me about them later. Anytime you want."

"That's gonna be hard considering you don't carry your phone around."

Haru went silent for a few seconds, "If that's the case then I'll start carrying it with me- "

Rin looked up at him.

"-Just for you."

And just like, Haruka again effortlessly managed to cut through the resolve and walls that Rin built around himself. Rin felt familiar tears form and he buried his face in his palms. He was humiliated to be crying in front of Haru like this again, but when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his shoulders, and a hand softly stroke his hair, he figured that the situation wasn't _that bad._

A minute later, he pulled back from the other, wiping his eyes. Haru gave him a apprehensive look and Rin rolled his eyes, "Don't look so worried. I'm fine…I promise."

At that, Haru gave him a small smile and turned to look outside the window.

"The weather's gotten warm again recently," he said, "Want to go to the beach?"

At that, Rin smirked triumphantly and sprang up on his feet, "Hell yeah! I'll race you there!"

Haru smiled up at him, "It's a challenge then-"

He stood up.

"-Rin."


	2. Handcuffed

**[SCRACTH THE SMUT IN THE AN AFTER]**

**Prompt from the RinHaru chatroom: Nagisa handcuffs Rin and Haru together and awkward hilarity ensues.**

**Pairing: Rin/Haru**

**Big thanks to the chatroom for the idea and I hope you enjoy! ^^**

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

"I'll kill him. I'll kill him. I'll kill him so hard that he'll nev -"

"Calm down Rin."

"How the hell do you expect me to calm down?! That bastard left _with the fucking key_!"

"I know…but complaining about it won't fix anything."

Rin glared at Haru, "Then what's your idea of getting out of this mess, huh?"

Haru thought for a few moments, "We can wait until he comes back tomorrow."

"HELL NO!" Rin yelled, "There's no way we're going to be stuck like this all night!"

Haru shrugged his shoulders, "He lives over an hour away and already took the last train home by the time we woke up. There's nothing else we can do."

"How are you always so damn calm about things?" Rin groaned, as he pressed his face into his palms. _Of all the people to get stuck to…_

"How are we going to get out of this thing?" he moaned, shaking his leg. The bright metal of the handcuff linking his and Haru's ankles shone under the light, as if to mock them.

"When Nagisa gives us the key tomorrow," Haru said, "Until then we have to pass the time somehow." After a moment he gasped and got a strange gleam in his eyes.

"What?" Rin turned toward him hopefully, "Did you think of something?"

"Rin!" Haru professed.

Rin looked at him expectantly and repeated, "What?!"

Haru looked uncharacteristically excited, "Let's see if we can swi-"

He was cut off when Rin smacked the back of his head before screaming, "THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR YOUR STUPID JOKES!"

Haru scowled at him, almost pouting, "…I wasn't joking."

Rin held the other's upset gaze for a few seconds before sighing loudly and flopping down to the floor. He had failed to realize that his leg was _literally_ attached to Haru's, and ended up causing the other boy to stumble and fall right with him.

"Ow!" Rin snapped when Haru's elbows painfully rammed into his back, "That fucking hurt!"

Since his face his was now buried into the crook of Rin's neck, Haru's groan came out a bit muffled. But that didn't stop him from looking up and shooting Rin a withering look, "I'm not the one who suddenly decided to throw himself on the floor."

Instantly Rin looked down in defeat, and mumbled a half-assed apology under his breath. He was flat on his stomach while Haru was sprawled on top on him, and after a few dazed minutes he asked him, "Do you plan on getting off of me anytime soon?"

Haru shifted a bit, "…It's too much of an effort"

Rin's sudden frustration nearly drove him to tears.

"Why are things always so complicated with these guys?" he wondered, as he thought back to the day's events.

-o-o-o-o-

That morning he had received a call from Nagisa, inviting him over to Haru's, "for a day full of fun and making memories" as the blonde had put it. Rin begrudgingly ended up agreeing and made his way over.

It had been a typical get together with Iwatobi, full of antics and, though Rin would never openly admit it, fun. When the sun began to set, Makoto and Rei made their way home, and he was ready to leave as well.

But Nagisa had grabbed Rin's arm and randomly insisted that he stay and watch some movie with him and Haru. Rin had declined and spent the next five minutes trying to fight the blonde, before giving up and sitting back down on the floor.

This is where things should have ringed as suspicious.

Out of the blue, Haru had appeared with a blanket, and sat himself right next to Rin. Their shoulders were pressed together, legs touching, and Rin hadn't been sure of how to react to the sudden closeness. Other than a slight furrow in his brow, Haru seemed the same as usual and told Nagisa to start the movie.

It was some random black and white romance from the sixties, and Rin had never been more bored in his entire life. Several times he had tried to leave, or at least get them to pick something else, but Nagisa kept insisting, "Just wait, Rin-chan! It gets really good!", while Haru simply shot him glares that said 'be quiet and sit down'.

About an hour into the movie, Rin had completely fallen asleep. It was when he woke up, three hours later, that he found himself leaning against an also snoozing Haru. He blearily looked around the room, noted that Nagisa was gone, and checked his phone for the time.

_10:42_

Immediately he jerked awake and tried to get up, only to have something cold and hard hold his leg down. Annoyed, he kicked the blanket away, and found a silver and smooth handcuff hooked around his and Haru's ankles.

A minute later, Haru jumped awake at the sound of Rin's screamed curses.

-o-o-o-o-

Rin was brought out of his recollections when he felt his legs growing numb. Haru had been awkwardly lying on top of him for the last ten minutes, and the lower half of his body started tingling and losing feeling.

He half-heartedly tried to shake Haru off, "Move. I can't feel my damn legs."

"…Don't wanna."

Rin groaned, "Seriously! They're falling asleep!"

Haru sighed deeply into the back of Rin's neck and got up, completely missing the shiver that went through the red head.

"What do we do now?" he asked.

Rin sat up and shrugged, "Don't ask me. It looks like we really are stuck like this."

Haru looked annoyed, "That's what I've been saying all along."

"…Shut up."

Haru gave him another withering look and Rin sighed, raising a hand up in defeat.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. I'm sorry for complaining, okay?" he said, "No need to keep glaring at me."

Haru looked at him for a few more seconds, but appeared to forgive anyway. He then seemed to be deep in thought, contemplating something, but when Rin asked him was wrong, he merely shook his head and said, "Nothing."

Rin frowned at him, "Are you sure?"

"Actually…" Haru mumbled. Suddenly he leaned in close to the red head and assertively declared, "You're going to sleep with me."

Rin's mind went completely blank.

He stared at Haru, eyes huge and mouth wide open. When he saw that the other was completely serious, a dark rosy blush bloomed all over his face.

"W-W-WHAT?!" he sputtered, his entire body shaking.

…_Is he fucking with me?_

_There's no way he's…_

_But why does he look so damn serious?_

_No way._

_No way. No way. No way._

_Does his bastard expect me to lose my virginity handcuffed?_

_**Hell. No.**__ That's __**not**__ romantic at all. _

_Tch! Typical of him!_

_If this is ever going to happen then it in needs to be at a better time, pla-_

"Rin?" Haru asked, "Are you alright?"

Rin jumped and screeched, "Of c-course I'm alright!"

He couldn't help but wince at how embarrassingly high his voice was.

Haru raised an eyebrow, "Then why do you look so red?"

Rin wanted to fall in a hole and die. He grabbed Haru by the collar, "HOW DO YOU NOT EXPECT ME TO BE EMBARASSED?"

Haru seemed unfazed at Rin's hostility and asked, "Why are you embarrassed?"

Rin contemplated hitting him, "BECAUSE YOU FUCKING JUST ASKED ME TO SLEEP WITH YOU!"

Haru looked confused, "What's the big deal? It-"

Rin interrupted him, "IT'S FUCKING BIG DEAL, HARU!"

But Haru continued on, "-makes sense considering we're chained together. Unless you want us to sleep on the floor."

"…"

"…"

"…Wait…what?" Rin asked dumbly, after several moments.

Haru looked at him warily, "I meant that you can sleep in my bed with me tonight."

"Oh…" Rin whispered. He was completely mortified at himself and at his own thoughts. It also didn't help that Haru was giving him a 'what's wrong with you now?' look.

Rin quickly turned away from him, and looked up at the ceiling to hide his blush, "L-let's just go to bed okay? I'm fucking tired."

Haru still looked at him suspiciously, but stood up and offered him a hand anyway.

-o-o-o-o-

_There's no way in hell I can sleep like this…_

Rin sighed soundlessly into the air and wondered what he had done in his past life to deserve this. After Haru had helped him up, he had led Rin to his bedroom, hand still in hand, and Rin had been too self-conscious to say anything. Walking with their legs cuffed together had been a difficult, but they soon made their way to Haru's bed, and Rin was just glad to sleep the rest of the awful night away.

Only that wasn't possible considering the fact that Haru had decided that it was okay to wrap his arms around Rin's torso, tangle their legs together, and press his face into the curve of Rin's shoulder.

It had all happened so fast. One moment he had stretched out on the bed and the next, Haru was practically glued to him.

His first reaction was to curse and jump, but neither ended up happening because his throat closed up and because Haru's hold made it quite difficult to move.

Minutes went by, and when the other didn't do anything more, Rin hissed, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Haru ignored him and moved his nose into Rin's neck, nuzzling it.

Rin's turned his head to face him, cheeks aflame, "What the fuck are you trying to pull?"

Haru's eyes were sharp and piercing in the moonlight, "This much is okay, right?"

"Huh?"

Haru averted his gaze and murmured, "…I got nervous."

Rin raised an eyebrow, "What are you even talking about?"

"It's nothing," Haru sighed, "…Nothing anymore…"

Rin looked at Haru and wondered what was up with the other boy.

His face was an offbeat mix of disappointment and frustration, and the metal of the handcuff clinked softly when suddenly Rin turned around to face him.

The tips of their noses were barely brushing, and the space between them grew warm.

Rin eyed Haru's palm, limply lying between their chests, and hesitantly crawled his fingers closer to it.

"What time will Nagisa be here?" he asked.

Haru's attention was completely fixed on Rin's hand, and he slowly reached his own towards it.

Rin asked again, "Oi, what time is Nagisa getting here?"

Haru shrugged his shoulder, as Rin's fingers skimmed across his wrist, before moving up to his palm. There was a moment where the both of them kept completely still, unsure of what the other wanted, but when Haru stretched his hand out flat, Rin took the invitation and linked their fingers together.

He looked up to gauge Haru's reaction, and to his surprise, Haru looked…_really pleased. _His eyes were doing that funny glistening thing they did whenever they saw a pool, and his cheeks were flushing pink.

Drowsiness abruptly to creep on Rin, and through it, he squeezed the other's hand and whispered, "This much is okay."

Haru blinked in surprised and looked up at Rin. But by then, the red head was already asleep.

-o-o-o-o-

Nagisa yawned deeply as he continued texting Rei in attempt for homework answers. His phone rang and he smiled at the familiar ID.

"Haru-chan?"

"I wanted to call and say thank you."

"It's no problem! But I still don't know why you asked me to handcuff Rin-chan to you."

"Don't worry about it."

"Awww. Don't be that way! Tell me! Did you want to try out a new way of swimming?!"

"Shush," Haru whispered, "Rin's asleep right next to me, so you need to keep your voice d-"

"WHAT?!" Nagisa interrupted, yelling.

Haru froze when he realized his grave mistake, "Wait. I take it back. I didn't mean th-"

"THAT'S WHY YOU ASKED ME TO HANDCUFF YOU GUYS TOGEHTER?!"

"Nagisa. Stop it. No. I didn't m-"

"I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE SO BOLD HARU-CHAN!" the blonde practically screamed, "WHAT DID YOU DO? HOW DID RIN-CHAN REACT? WAS HE SHOCKED? WAS HE INTO IT? I BET HE WAS TOTALLY INTO IT! I'VE SEEN THE WAY HE LOOKS AT YOU. IT'S SO OBV-"

Haruka hung up, turned his phone off, and tossed it across the room.

Rin'll be pissed when Nagisa tells him tomorrow morning, that's for sure. But at the moment, he looked so peaceful and endearing, grasping Haru's hand while he dozed off, that Haru couldn't help but nestle up close to him, a small smile playing on his lips.

-o-o-o-o-

**I didn't really know where I was going with this one in all honesty. But I'm glad I got it done because these two adorable dorks have been my everything recently. I really wish I could write them being all romantic and coupley, but I'm pretty sure I'd suck at it. *cries forever* **


	3. Movie Date

**Pairing: Rin/Haru**

**AN: Enjoy some awkwardly sweet swimming ****boyfriends and their awkwardly sweet relationship **

**Excerpt: "A fish movie?" Haru asked, "Fish? As in the ocean? As in water?"**

**Rin rolled his eyes; he could practically see the other's eyes shining, "It's a freaking kid's movie."**

**"I don't care," Haru countered.**

**Rin figured that it'd be best not to argue with Haru when it came to water related topics.**

Rin turned his head to the side, eyes in search for a certain dark haired boy. When he couldn't find him, he checked his watch again and sighed. '_He's late.'_

Annoyed, he made his way over to a bench in front of the theatre and sat down. He felt ridiculous, and a bit embarrassed, that he had gotten so excited over meeting up with someone who apparently didn't feel the same way.

That morning he had received a phone call, and to his surprise, it was Haru on the other end.

"Haru?" Rin whispered. '_Since when does he carry his cellphone with him?'_

"Rin," the other stated.

The red head waited for him to continue, but several seconds passed by and he even checked his phone twice to make sure the call was still connected.

When the seconds turned into a full minute he griped, "If you don't have anything to say th-"

"Movies," Haru interrupted.

Rin blinked, "Huh?"

There was silence on the other end for a bit, and Rin was sure he heard the other mutter something suspiciously like 'you're a pain', before Haru answered, "The movies. On Saturday. Let's go."

_'Blunt as ever_' Rin thought, but that didn't stop the slight warmth that spread on face. He'd never admit it, but having his old friends reach out to him, especially after everything they'd been through, gave him an odd yet genuine feeling of happiness. One that he'd hadn't felt in years.

Already forsaking his routine weekend training, he asked, "Sure. What do you want to see?"

"…I don't know," Haru answered.

Rin frowned a bit, "You don't know? Then why do you want to go to the movies?"

This time he was _positive_ he heard Haru call him pain under his breath. Just when he was about to ask him what his problem was, Haru said, "I just want to go to the movies. That should be enough, right?"

Something felt a bit off to Rin, so he asked, "Haru, do you even know what movies are playing right now?"

Haru didn't answer and for some reason, Rin couldn't help but snicker.

"…Stop laughing," Haru grumbled.

The smile on Rin's face grew a bit wider, "Oh? Am I making you mad?"

"Annoying…" Haru muttered.

The smile fell from Rin's face, "What was that?"

"I said you're annoying," Haru answered, voice loud and clear.

"Are you trying to pick a fight?" Rin growled.

"No," Haru said, "I'm trying to go the movies but a certain person is making it hard for me."

Rin sighed and raised his free hand in defeat, though the other boy wasn't even there with him to see it. He stretched back onto his bed and tried to remember some of the new movie titles he had heard Nitori rambling about the other day.

"There's some now superhero one…A bunch of probably stupid comedies…Some animated one about fish-" He stopped there, because Haru had gasped at the last description.

"A fish movie?," Haru asked, "Fish? As in the ocean? As in water?"

Rin rolled his eyes; he could practically see the other's eyes shining, "It's a freaking kid's movie."

"I don't care," Haru countered.

Rin figured that it'd be best not to argue with Haru when it came to water related topics. But now that he thought about it, he could imagine the sort of awed look Haru would have on face during the entire movie, and suddenly the kid flick didn't seem so bad.

"Okay. I'll see you in a week then," Rin said.

"Next week?" Haru asked, "Let's go today."

Rin raised his eyebrows, "Today? Didn't you say Saturday?"

"Today's Saturday."

"It wouldn't hurt you to be more specific… And anyway it's almost 2:00."

"Yes. That's plenty of time to go see a movie," Haru said.

Rin clicked his tongue, "Not when I have homework and practice to worry about."

"Kou told me once that Samezuka's practices are from 3:00 to 5:00. Just do your homework before then," Haru advised.

"Because that's not inconvenient," Rin bit out sarcastically.

"Exactly. I'll see you at the theatre at 6:00," Haru said, before promptly hanging up.

Just as fast, Rin's brows furrowed and he stared at his phone in a mixture of disbelief and irritation. Immediately he called Haru back, but the other didn't answer. After three more failed attempts, Rin gave up and tossed his phone down on his pillow.

_'That idiot is probably already swimming or something.'_

Rin had half the mind to just ignore the invitation and go on with his day. But a while later, he found himself reaching towards his backpack. As he easily worked through his homework, he wondered just what shirt would be best to wear.

Back at the theatre, Rin was snapped out of his recollections when a voice called out his name.

_'About time' _he thought as he checked his watch. It was almost 6:30 and he debated whether or not to chew Haru out for being so late. Before he got a chance to turn around, he felt someone tackle him in a hug.

"Rin-chan!"

"Nagisa?!"

The ever chipper blonde looked up at him, with large eyes, "I can't believe you forgot to invite us! It's a good thing Haru-chan did! He said we were seeing…"

Haru, Makoto and Rei walked up as Nagisa continued to bombard Rin with questions. It took a whole minute for Rin to pry him off, and when the rest of the group walked towards the ticket window, he grabbed Haru's wrist.

"You invited them?" he asked, feeling more annoyed than he knew he should have been.

Haru looked away and glowered at the ground, "No...I didn't know how much money to bring, so I asked Nagisa. And before I knew it, he invited himself with Makoto and Rei."

Rin groaned and let go of him, "That guy…Why'd you have to get him involved?"

"I'm more upset that you are," Haru said, sulking at the ground.

Rin raised an eyebrow and glanced at him._ 'Is he pouting?' _He shrugged his shoulders and went on ahead, only stopping when Haru didn't follow. He turned back at him and made a 'come on' motion, but the other stubbornly shook his head and didn't budge.

"What's wrong with you now?" Rin asked.

Haru's brows furrowed, "…I don't want to go anymore…"

Rin grit his teeth, "Hah? You're gonna say that after I rushed through my homework, and left practice early just to see you?"

Haru at least had the courtesy to look guilty. But that didn't stop him from saying, "I don't want to see the fish movie anymore."

Rin walked up to him, "Then what do you want to do?"

Haru couldn't look him in the eye, "I want to see a movie." '_Just with you.'_

"If you want to see a movie then what's stopping you?" Rin asked.

Haru shrugged his shoulders and turned to see the other three already walking inside. When he was sure they were in, he turned to Rin and looked him straight in the eye, "Let's see something else."

"Something else?" Rin repeated, "What about the others?"

Haru gave him a look that said 'just stop talking' and took hold Rin's elbow. He pulled him toward the ticket gate and said, "We'll catch up with them later."

"Are you still crying?" Haru whispered.

Rin scowled at him, before turning back to the movie. As embarrassing as it was, he couldn't control his faint sniffs and occasional rush of tears. The melodramatic romance, which Haru had picked on a whim, somehow found its way straight to his heart. Though many movies did that with him. They were were barely thirty minutes in when his eyes started watering.

On the screen, the hero and heroine were running towards each other to reunite and Haru couldn't have cared less. In fact, he hadn't been paying attention to the movie at all. It was boring and sappy and he was annoyed that he had to sit through it while Nagisa and the others got to watch something about water.

He zoned out two minutes in and had been idly staring at the screen until he heard a sniff beside him. He had looked over to Rin, and was surprised to see him near tears.

_'…For a guy who acts so tough, you really are a crybaby' _Haru thought, with a bit of fondness.

"Are you alright?" he asked Rin.

The red head glared at him, "Don't look down on me you jerk."

Haru couldn't help but smile a little, "I'm not."

Rin huffed and Haru looked away almost laughed. It was weird how expressive the red head could make him. Things like laughing, being embarrassed, feeling frustrated, feeling pleased were all foreign to him; especially after a lifetime of comfortable apathy. But out to the blue—or maybe water— a certain sharp-toothed dreamer, with the heart on his sleeve as large as the presence he had, managed to change all that. And he'd know just how just grateful Haru was for him.

"Need a tissue?" Haru asked, holding a popcorn napkin towards him.

Rin gave him a small glare, but still took it anyway. He wiped the red corners of his eyes and was blowing his nose when he felt something warm and heavy press on his shoulder. He looked down and nearly choked when he saw Haru's head laying on him.

Rin tried to speak, tried to ask him what the hell he was doing, but the words were lodged in this throat and all he could do was look down at the black head of hair on his shoulder. He craned his neck to see the other's face and…'_Is he blushing?!'_

The soft pink on Haru's cheeks was enough to prove that and Rin shook his head, "I'm the one who should feel embarrassed, you idiot."

Haru gave him a look, "Don't talk so big, when your face is red too."

Rin immediately began sputtering and hissed, "It is not!"

Haru lifted his head from Rin's shoulder and leaned in, not noticing how suddenly nervous it made the other. Soon their breath intermingled, and their noses brushed.

Rin's mind was a mess. He knew Haru would never do anything so bold. He knew it. So why was his chest pounding like crazy? Why couldn't he speak? Why did he lean in the tiniest bit?

Suddenly Haru said, "Yup. Your face is definitely red."

Instantly he put his head back down on Rin's shoulder and missed the mixed look of surprise, humiliation, and disappointment on the red head's face.

He felt Rin stir around and asked, "What's wrong?"

Rin buried his face in his hands and murmured, "Nothing…"

The night air was cool as Haru and Rin both walked back home. Since the others left right after their movie was over, and said movie had been an hour shorter than theirs, it was just to two of them walking back.

When they walked past the train station, Haru asked, "Aren't you going to go home?"

Rin shrugged his shoulders and looked up at the night's sky, "I'll walk you home."

_Romantic, right?_

Immediately, the old memory of twelve year old Rin's face, smile, and charm came back to Haru. He murmured a soft thanks and stepped just a bit closer to the other.

Haru glanced over to Rin, took in his hunched shoulders, ever present frown, intimidating demeanor, and strangely thought to himself, _'I really must like this person.'_

He reached over and pulled on the sleeve of Rin's jacket. Rin looked over at him, and for a second Haru's anxiousness held him back, but he shook his head and said, "Thank you."

Rin look surprised, "For what?"

Haru's face grew even more heated, "For coming out here today."

_'For meeting with me.'_

He walked closer to Rin.

_'For showing me something new."_

He hesitantly touched Rin's hand.

_'Something I'd never seen before.'_

He stopped in front of Rin and looked him in the eye.

_'For changing my world.'_

He could see just how shocked his actions were making the other, but that didn't deter Haru from slowly wrapping him in a hug.

_'Thank you so much…'_

"For being you," Haru whispered.

The beating of Rin's heart was so loud, it thrummed in his ears. He was sure Haru could hear it to. Affection, a physical one at that, was something he'd never seen Haru give. He was all about indifference and disregard and solitude and aloofness…_'So why is he hugging me?'_

But that thought didn't stop Rin from hesitantly winding his arms around Haru's shoulders. It diidn't stop his cheeks from burning. And it didn't stop the feeling of contentment from running through him.

"You...really need to stop messing with my head," Rin murmured, his breath warming the other's neck.

Haru felt Rin's hair tickle his cheeks, "What do you mean?"

Rin looked at the ground, "Earlier…you…you leaned in and...Ugh, never mind."

Haru pulled back a bit and looked at him, "I leaned in?"

Rin's gaze was still on the ground, "Don't make me say something so embarrassing, you idiot."

Haru cocked his head to the side, "What am I missing?"

Rin sighed and groaned, all at the same time, and stammered, "W-when a person leans in c-close to your face, that makes you think they're gonna…" He couldn't say it.

"They're gonna what?" Haru asked.

"Forget it," Rin moaned.

Haru shook his head, "No. Tell me."

It seemed Haru would force him to say it. Rin had never felt more embarrassed in his life. Just how was going to admit to Haru, of all people, that he had expected a…

"…Kiss…or something," Rin grumbled, shakily.

Haru's eyes widened, "…Oh."

Just when he felt Rin begin to pull away, a surge of recklessness hit Haru, and he tightened his grip around him and asked, "Something like this?"

Before brushing his lips against the other's.

To say Rin was shocked would be a vast understatement. He was stunned. He was floored. He was speechless. He was…leaning in. Into the soft kiss, innocent in all manners, but was still his first and still left his mind reeling.

Several moments later, Haru pulled back, face red and eyes alight. Rin felt way too incredibly shy to look at him, and was staring at his feet, but Haru pressed his nose on his cheek, and nudged his face up to look at him. Their eyes met, and a multitude of different feelings passed through them.

After a moment Haru whispered, "Like that?"

Rin was silent.

"Is it alright...if we do it one more time?" Haru questioned.

Rin almost wanted to hit him, "You don't ask things like that!"

Haru wasn't fazed, "So it's alright then?"

Rin sighed and murmured, "Just shut up," as he pressed his mouth against Haru's.

**I hope you enjoyed this. RinHaru is good for the soul (◡‿◡✿)**


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